can anyone tell me why the germans had a front wheel drive in their panzers? all this deal with transfering the power from the engine in the back to the front wheels must have been for something!
thanks
thanks
-
-
Reasons
Basically, front or rear sprockets are purely a matter of overall tank arrangement.
Gearbox is a bulky part. It maybe placed at the end of the engine, making it very long, but simplifying sprocket drive system and access for service. The problem is that the turret has to be move forward and the engine may not balance the weight of it + the gun + the front armour (see T34 for this arrangement). It is more difficult to uparmoured or upgunned the tank.
The other solution is to place it in the front. Advantages are that turret can be placed in the middle of the tank, engine has not to balance it, and it provides some protection to the crew. Disadvantages are that access is not easy (it is placed where the armour is the thickest and openings are not welcome), a front hit can damaged it by concussion or aligning out armour plates, breaking shafts.
Germans used heavily armoured and gunned tanks. It was so easier to design them with front gearbox.
this is also a reason why the PzIV could have been upgunned and uparmoured. -
thankks. there don't seem to be a lot of experts on this subject!Comment
Comment